Dharma Realm Guan Yin Sagel...

Reported all vegan to HappyCow Oct 2012. The buffet is an elaborate features of around 15 dishes. A plate plus drink for 4-5 Ringit, and a mix of salads, barley, miniature tomatoes, papaya, etc. for around 2.50 Ringit. Free buffet twice a month on 1st and 15th of lunar calendar. Public can participate in the chanting & recitation of the daily Ceremony Of Repentance Of the Great Compassion With A Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes (Guan Shr Yin Bodhisattava) at 12.30pm daily at the monastery. Closes at 2pm when there is chanting ceremony. Located opposite Corus Hotel, next to MCA HQ, 5 minutes walk from KLCC. Price:Inexpensivemore-less

Reviews

Pure awesomeness

5

Posted on 05 / 06 / 2015

There's not much I can add that's not already been said, except the fact that I wish they had a more transparent pricing system. We got two plates of different things—first one with a drink (RM2 extra) for a total of RM6.50 and the second without for RM8.50. Seemed to me certain items, presumably the fried stuff, were priced individually. Then again, we are talking about only a few RM here, so the difference is really insignificant. Bottom line is whatever and however much you pile on your plate, it's going to be cheap cheap cheap and yum yum yum!

unforgettable KL experience

5

Posted on 01 / 01 / 2015

I always enjoy passing through KL for a few days when travelling in SE Asia, particularly because there's no shortage of delicious, veg*n, Indian, Chinese, and Malay food on offer in this city! Lunch at this eclectic buffet, tucked behind a temple, a stone's throw (or short walk) from KLCC, has been my favourite KL dining experience yet.

My partner and visited at lunch time on a weekday, peak time for office workers from the area taking their lunch breaks. It was bustling! I personally wouldn't avoid going at this time. The more the merrier, I say. It's not like they're going to run out of food and the seating area is huge, with plenty of communal tables. The only problem with this is looking across at what other people have on their plates, and wishing you'd tried some of that as well! The buffet table is heaving, with at least 15 dishes on the day we were there. I have to guiltily admit that my favourites were the rich, oily, fake meats in rich, sweet sauces. There were some sort of crispy, fried potatoes which I also loved. Luckily there are lots of lighter, refreshing dishes of greens as well, so make sure you get plenty of those on your plate to balance it out. My partner doesn't really eat rice so he went without to save room on his plate (and in his stomach) for other dishes. I personally recommend taking rice to soak up some of the tasty sauces, even though it is super filling! Because we knew we only had time to visit once and wanted to try a little of everything, we totally overloaded our plates and over ate. I wished we'd had a chance to visit a few times and walked away less stuffed! I'd like to go back and try some of the lighter lunch options from the noodle stand and some of the others.

My partner did get a bag of cookies from the sweet stand. He took one bite and then put it on my plate. They were pretty much inedible. Tasteless and hard. Definitely not freshly baked. Give them a miss! There weren't many desert options when we went. They did have those fried balls of dough with sweet white or red bean paste inside and sesame seeds on the outside - always a winner as far as I'm concerned.

The very first place every veg*n must visit in KL

The best place to eat in KL, without any buts and ifs. (Loving Hut might be the second choice but if you don't happen to live nearby, you usually can't spare a couple hours each day just to eat.)

It's located just across the street from KLCC LRT station (although crossing the street might sometimes be a torture when it's hot outside) and it has a lot of tasty, healthy, cheap vegan food. Of course, you can also find something on KLCC Suria mall's food court (Indian food, local vegetarian adaptations, even a pizza), but what you can get there is much cheaper, 100% vegan, and usually tastier even if cold.

For just RM3.5 (about US$1) you can have rice with any vegetables and stuff you can fit on the plate (although wasting food is discouraged -- don't help yourself too much so you can't eat it all). Stuff is usually stews and sautes with vegetables, shrooms, tofu, mock meat: usually from 10 to 20 different options, usually Chinese or Malay style (deep-fried tofu in sweet sauce was somewhat weird for my taste but even it was passable, everything else was always very tasty). Add RM1 if you want a take-out box.

Apart from that, there are some relatively cheap buns/cakes/snacks, some fresh fruits, and noodles (helpings are big so don't even try to eat both noodle soup and a full plate of rice and stuff). The only thing I miss there is fresh veggie salads; there are some Chinese-style cabbages but it's not quite like fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and salad leaves...

Every month or so there is a free buffet which is not exactly as good as it sounds. Thing is the food is very cheap anyway, but when it's free, there are less options (almost no snacks and the noodle counter is closed, I think). And for those who have no money there is some free food every day (and you can also donate to that) so I don't like those days too much.

It has roof, so rain is no problem, but it's open and hence has no aircon so if you're not accustomed to local weather you might prefer eating in the malls and air-conditioned restaurants first. It closes early (I can't confirm the time in the listing, but at 1:30pm half of the stuff is gone and I don't think they cook anything after that).

Bottom line: after trying all the popular, expensive, and fancy places (Loving Hut, Simple Life, at least three different Indian restaurants) I don't want to eat anywhere else except this place. I love it.

Note that in any other Buddhist temple in Malaysia you usually can find at least some vegan food.

Pros: centrally located, vegan, tasty Cons: open place: no aircon, it's a buffet: no custom orders, no fresh salads, almost no drinks

Good Foodcourt

3

Posted on 03 / 10 / 2014

The foodcourt is in the plot oft the Buddhist temple! Enger through the main entrance and continue in left side oft building! Big selection oft nice food. People speak english just ask them about the food. Its self service, you pay at the end. I Bad a good filled plate plus a drink and fruits and paid 7,50 rm

Good food at an even better price

5

Posted on 12 / 01 / 2013

Tons of food options. The "chicken drumstick" was eerily similar to real meat. We also bought a bunch of cookies and two meals which came to less than $6CAD. Very impressed. Tons of seating and very bustling during lunch.
Updated from previous review on Friday November 29, 2013

Nobody is exaggerating : Best buffet ever

5

Posted on 09 / 09 / 2013

A friend who gave us the low-down on KL vegetarian food told us about this place behind a Buddhist temple within walking distance of KLCC park/mall.
We stayed 6 days in KL and ate 3 lunches at this place. There's no reason not too, there is so much to choose from you won't get everything you want the first time.
You are charged per plate, so get as much as you want (we had just come from Indonesia, where most warungs charge you by number of dishes eaten and where eating a little bit of 4 things costs more than eating a lot of 1 thing, so our first time here we weren't sure if it was the same and only got a few things, the second and third time i think I tried 10 different dishes...).
Some mock meat but also delicious vegetable dishes. Pumpkin dishes, lotus root, so many different flavors.
THE STEAMED BUNS!
The old women making the steamed buns were super cute and excited to talk about the buns they were making. We tried the peanut, red bean, and lotus paste, as well as the cookies (great!) and the steamed cake (wow). All seemed to be made with whole wheat
After getting all this I think the price came to about 20 ringgit for two people, including getting steamed buns, which comes out to less than 7 USD. You cannot beat that for the flavors, the quality, the friendliness, the nice scene of lunchtime KLCC business-types mixed with Buddhists all eating while chanting is played over loudspeakers. Amazing place to eat.
Prior to eating we liked to walk the 1.2km loop of KLCC park a few loops, getting prepared for what we were about to do to this buffet...

One of top 3 vegan choices in KL

5

Posted on 10 / 14 / 2012

Buffet at lunch time (11:30 AM-2 PM, Monday-Friday, except holidays) with too many to count items, separate noodle station, separate healthy station, separate miscellaneous station, plus extra stuff to buy at the cash register.
Recommended: curry laksa with rice; BBQ mock meat; okra
Wed or Friday they do sesame balls (the specialty/miscellaneous station seems to do something different every day) also have vegan peanut butter cookies and most recently donuts-which were a real treat and are pretty awesome when you get them fresh off the fryer.
Money wise they're practically giving away the food

Pros: great food, many choices, DONUTS!!! Cons: outside-hot, I've seen a rat running around

Peaceful and affordable

4

Posted on 02 / 08 / 2012

A simple and yummy meal within a Buddhist Temple. The meal was very affordable. Lots of indignation posted on vegetarianism around the cafeteria. You can stay and listen to a dharma talk or spend some time in the reading room. Some books are available by donation.

Cheap price, good buffet & noodles! Value for $!

4

Posted on 08 / 06 / 2011

I went to this place also before I became a vegetarian and was surprised at the price & variety of the buffet & on top of that they had noodles & desserts! A calm atmosphere as it's located in a Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy Temple right smack in the middle of town)

Cheap Lunch, Nice Food

5

Posted on 06 / 01 / 2011

I always go to this temple to have my lunch. It is really reasonable to spend a lunch there. There not only mixed rice provided, like fried mee, mee soup, nasi lemak, dessert, snack, juices....etc. Mostly I take a big plate of rice and three types of dishes and it only cost me RM3.50. I am working at KL Golden Triangle, it is a good news to those people who work at KL. It is really save: save money, safe the live and safe for your health. Although it is a temple, it open for public but Saturday is not operating. Sunday is open due to the Buddhist come to pray and also sell food as well.

Excellent

The Best Buffet ever

5

Posted on 02 / 22 / 2010

I'm not a fan of buffets but this is a most impressive display of so many types of veggie cooking. It's incredibly cheap with amazing yummy salad options, loads of different noodle options (one had a lovely pumpkin sauce). It seems to be totally vegan as well.

Loads of different fake meat options. There was a chicken drumstick wrapped around a popsicle stick with a texture that made feel uncomfortable to consume due to it's psuedo fleshy nature. Great sauces and soups. The only down side is the rather functional cafeteria style seating and the fact that it is only open for lunch Mon to Fri.

A definate must for superb and gourmet veggie cuisine in KL.

Pros: really good value, gourmet, original Cons: limited opening times, cafeteria style seating, only one of them need more

Best Vegan Buffet Ever. I love it!

5

Posted on 04 / 11 / 2009

We lived in the center of KLCC . It was very walkable, about 10 minutes, through the mall, and then 5 minutes walk to the monastery. It was difficult to find the place because there were temples/prayers in the front, but it was located in the back of the monastery. The food buffets are very amazing--so many new things to try everyday with the faux soy meat, beancurds, vegetables, vegan drumstick, noodles, soups, porridge, and salad (burgers/pita like sandwich)! They even have vegan sweet baked goods and dimsum related foods, which is a must to bring these joys back to your place, and the fruits are amazingly prepped and at cheaper value compared to grocery stores in KLCC! Currently from the U.S. & Denmark, we, without a high doubt, enjoy eating out there few times a week. The value was very more than affordable than ever. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who is vegan and vegetarian. They do not use MSG or oil at all--they use brown sugar and alternatives to healthy cooking, which is amazing. Usually a plate of rice with those many dishes to try costs about 3 - 6.50 myr depending on how much you take. Besides, you save a lot if you bring your own plastic container!

Do check out our photos shown above! Enjoy!

Pros: Fabulous Cheap Foods, New Things to Try Every weekday, Friendly Chefs (staff) Cons: Closed Weekends, No Napkins, No Air Conditioning, but Fan

Great place

5

Posted on 01 / 09 / 2009

This is a wonderful place to eat, though we suggest coming early. We arrived at 1:40 pm, and weren't able to take full advantage, as many items had run out. The food we did manage to eat was still fresh and delicious, with lots of wonderful options. It's sort of cafeteria style. Load up. No matter how much you take, it won't cost much. This was the cheapest meal we've ever eaten, as two of us dined with two full plates, dessert (fruit) and cocunut milk for 10 RM. No point in relating what we ate, as it changes, but it was all good. No super atmosphere here (though the temple in front is beautiful), with long metal tables, but that doesn't hurt the place. It's well worth a visit. By the way, this is about 500m walk from the Petronas towers.